PENSACOLA, Fla. -- For a brief moment, Keelan Harvick thought he let a victory slip away in his debut Snowflake 125 appearance at Five Flags Speedway early Sunday morning.
A bad restart with 45 laps remaining stymied a valiant charge the young Harvick had made from the 15th starting position, which forced him to play catch up against Tristan McKee and reigning Snowball Derby winner Kaden Honeycutt. Possessing the same poise as his father Kevin, Harvick did not waste the limited time at his disposal.
Not even 20 laps passed before Harvick found himself on McKee’s rear bumper to re-take the top spot. Harvick easily dispatched McKee and held him off in the closing laps to become the youngest Snowflake 125 winner at 13, surpassing the record previously established by a 14-year-old Hunter Robbins in 2005.
Battling his way to a Snowflake 125 victory was a mentally taxing experience for Harvick, who climbed out of his No. 62 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford shortly before 4 a.m. CT. Yet he still made time to appreciate and reflect upon the journey that led him to prevailing on the Pro Late Model discipline’s premier stage.
“It’s just really cool,” he said. “[I’m thankful for] everything that everybody has sacrificed for me to get to this point. My dad took me to Italy when I was 10 to get the experience with all the other kids who are so much better. That helped me understand the value of racing and helped me get to this point.”
A full year’s worth of racing in Pro and Super Late Models alongside his dad was crucial toward preparing Harvick for everything the Snowflake 125 was going to bring.
The two Harvicks traveled across the United States, choosing races that would provide both stout competition and a chance for Keelan to properly develop. Seven of their starts together comprised a season-long competition between father and son called the Harvick Cup, with Keelan defeating Kevin in five of those races.
Racing against stellar fields in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West and NASCAR Southwest Series shaped Kevin into a driver that would later win the 2007 Daytona 500 and the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Kevin wanted to carve out a similar path for Keelan knowing he would benefit from both the highs and lows.
“We typically try to find the hardest races because you learn the most,” Kevin said. “This race is no different. Not going to find the best competition you can is detrimental to the kids. [Keelan] has done a great job, but Rackley [W.A.R.] has done a great job of preparing the cars all year and getting him used to driving the [Pro Late Models].”
Kevin’s beliefs were validated when he watched his son make a mistake on the Snowflake 125’s penultimate restart before ultimately gathering himself up to make a successful charge for the victory. There have been plenty of instances across all levels of racing where Kevin has seen other young drivers unravel in a similar scenario due to overall inexperience.
The younger Harvick could only linger on the botched restart for so long. He remembered everything his father, Rackley W.A.R., Ron Hornaday Jr. and everyone else in his corner had taught him about composure. All he needed to do was just drive.
“I thought I was in third gear, but I was in second gear,” Harvick said. “I just made a mistake, but I knew I had to fight back. [It would have been] a pretty embarrassing way to lose the Snowflake [125] after I had just got the lead.
“It was right at the top of my fingertips, but I really did not want that one to slip away.”
[caption id="attachment_496131" align="alignnone" width="1300"]The Snowflake 125 triumph gave Harvick his eighth victory in his first full season driving full-bodied stock cars. Among the places where Harvick has prevailed include Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway along with historic tracks such as Hickory Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
More than 60 cars were entered in this year’s Snowflake 125, one of the toughest fields Harvick has encountered in his young career to date. It was not just other competitors Harvick dealt with, as persistent rainfall all day at Five Flags delayed the Snowflake 125 by several hours, further adding to the mental strain shared by everyone in the infield.
Yet there was not a single moment throughout Harvick’s maiden Snowflake 125 venture where Kevin did not think his son was ready for the task at hand. Every obstacle the younger Harvick faced was met with both a sense of calm and professionalism, which is why Kevin is confident his son will continue to accumulate marquee victories long after the Snowflake 125.
“I’m really proud of him,” Kevin said. “We all work really hard at trying to keep the evolution of how he races, what he races and when he races. The best part about [the Snowflake 125]] was watching him through traffic. The laps at the end were good and he kept his head on his shoulders with two good guys behind him.
“It’s great to see him win, but I like to see the progression of different things throughout the night.”
The race Keelan put together early Sunday morning embodied many characteristics that garnered Kevin his nickname as "The Closer." While Keelan did not dominate statistically, he kept his car out of trouble all evening and pounced on the chance to take home a victory during the closing stages despite his mistake on the restart.
Now a part of a long list of Snowflake 125 champions, the younger Harvick plans to cherish his accomplishment as he prepares for 2026. One day, a chance at a Snowball Derby victory will come about, so Harvick wants to make sure he is ready to meet that moment when it arrives.
“Learning off [so many other drivers] helps me a lot,” Harvick said. “[It all comes down] to preparing and watching all the videos. All the hard work that goes into this pays off. My guys worked so hard for this and it’s really cool to see it pay off [with a Snowflake 125].
“[Now] I’m probably going to stay up and watch the Snowball Derby.”